Templates of each tool can be saved to your computer, then edited and printed at your leisure. Worksheets are a
little different, in that they have the capability of being edited on the One Stop site and saved to your account.
Worksheets can also be turned into PDFs and printed at any time.

Character Arc Progression
Example
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When it comes to poignant character elements, none are quite as formative as the wounding event. It generates crippling fears, changes the way the character views herself and the world, and spawns unhealthy coping mechanisms that do more harm than good—all of which results in someone who is stuck in dysfunction, with contentment and fulfillment perpetually beyond their grasp. This is where your story, and the character’s arc, begins.

Backstory Wound Profile
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A wounding event is a complex experience that should profoundly affect a character. Part of its power is that it impacts so many areas of life: beliefs, morals, personality traits (good and bad), fears, biases, emotions—the wound touches all of these things, dictating who your character will be in the story you’re writing.

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Fear is a great motivator. It drives behavior, spawns habits and quirks, and often is the “why” behind a character’s main goal. As a result, identifying your character’s biggest fear can help you create someone who makes sense and write him in a realistic fashion. To zero in on what your character fears most, consider the factors in the graphic below, which, combined, will point to an overarching fear. Once identified, this fear will add depth and realism to the hero, villain, sidekick, or any member of your story’s cast.

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Plotting a range of emotional ups and downs makes for compelling reading. This chart helps you plan a character’s emotional responses to escalating tension and conflict in a scene. It also allows you to brainstorm how those responses can be shown rather than told.

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Strong settings will have special meaning to your protagonist and possibly other characters. This emotional value is something writers build into the setting through personalization or mood. To craft an emotionally charged scene, fill in the shapes in the tool below to seed your scene with emotional triggers (people, setting details that serve as symbols, etc.) that can amplify your character’s feelings, remind her of the past, and show her options for the future—all of which will nudge her toward a specific decision, choice, or action.

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The setting for a scene is often viewed as mere window dressing—simply a time and place for the story to happen. But creating a strong sense of place is often pivotal for grounding readers in a scene and making them feel part of it rather than just sitting back and watching events unfold. For each scene, write it in a way that draws readers in. Use multi-sensory details that express how it sounds, smells, tastes, and feels, rather than relying solely on visual cues.

Setting Checklist
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Body Basics
Example
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To convey a character’s physical features to readers, authors must first have a mental picture themselves. Focus on specific descriptive wording for each character’s basic qualities as you plot the details on the worksheet.

Character At-A-Glance
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So many factors are involved in the making of our characters. While it's important to know the details about their pasts, sometimes a simple snapshot can provide a lot of insight. Use this spreadsheet to create an overall glimpse of the important characters in your story. You can then easily see if your characters need more variety, add conﬂict by introducing opposing qualities, encourage cooperation by adding harmonious elements, or even determine if a character is extraneous and should be cut from the story.

Physical Description
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Describing characters without creating boring lumps of factual details, using mirrored surfaces, breaking point of view, or resorting to stereotypes and clichés can be difficult. This worksheet is designed to help you physically describe your character using sensory detail, action, and emotion that will characterize and evoke lasting images in the reader’s mind.

Symbols and Motifs
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Symbolism and motifs add depth by placing harmonic elements into a story to reinforce the author's emotionally rich insight about the human condition. Challenge yourself on the questions asked in this Mind Map to uncover important themes in your story so you can determine the best symbols to carry your thematic message to readers.

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